Back to the bike and I’m going to be honest here; The G650GS is not my kind of bike. I like my bike to have long travel suspension, big aggressive knobblies and a lot of gravel churning power. None of this has anything in common with the new little GS. So initially I was not that excited about it. Not that it’s a bad bike; it’s just not my kind of bike.
Riding out of Cape Town I was certain that I summarized this bike wrong. It had a good throttle response, good ABS brakes and with the smaller front wheel it felt a lot more stable in traffic. Getting home I had a look at the bike. I mean a real look; I noticed all the little things that you would not normally notice. For starters, the rear suspension is adjustable on the fly. This is great if you want to soften it up if the road gets bad and stiffen it up again if the road gets better. The oil filler is on top of the fuel tank and is easily manageable – now you don’t have any excuse not to check your oil. The foot pegs also have removable inserts. Remove them when you venture off road and put them back when you get back to town. It really is the little things that make an owner appreciate his bike.
Our bike came fitted with a top box, and yet, as with most BMW products, the quality is exceptional. The locking and removing of the box really is a breeze. It also fits a full face helmet with no trouble and I’m guessing a dual purpose helmet won’t be a problem either.
Let’s get to the good part: the riding. On tar this bike is phenomenal; it’s clear that the demographic is the city junkie who likes to get out over the weekends. It’s not a bike that the experienced rider will buy, but it will be enjoyed either way. This is the perfect bike for the beginner to intermediate rider. The power is not intimidating, yet there is enough to see you overtake traffic on the freeway at normal speeds. The bike cruises effortlessly at 130kph and will run to a limited 170kph on the clock. The instrument panel features a time, temp and a distance odometer with a counting range when you run into reserve. Fuel tank size is 14 liters with 4 of that being reserved, and yes, I tested it. Range is surprisingly good and with a steady hand there is no reason why you shouldn’t see 260km+ on a full tank.
The little screen does a great job keeping the wind off your chest at highway speeds. I did find when riding with a dual purpose helmet that the buffeting was a little more than that of the full face. Either way it’s a good screen, even for tall people like me at 1.94m. The bike is also fitted with optional heated grips and even on the low settings they work almost too well. I have a feeling this is meant for the guys up in Joburg!
The wheels are Mag wheels and yes most will agree that it does not work off road. Its relative to the tires fitted and the Trailwings aren’t really meant for our corrugated roads in summer. They are tubeless and this is a major benefit, when you do go off-road. Just switch them for a set of Mitas eo7‘s and you will have a super dual purpose bike to go and explore the country roads.
My conclusion is that If you are new to the dual purpose lifestyle and you are looking for a do jt all bike with little compromise, the g650gs is a great bike. it will take you to work in the week and out to the Cedarburg on weekends. Backed with BMW on call, this surely is a good buy at R82 000.
Ride one today and tell me that I was wrong!
